


Sweet Tooth

by Alexis_Rockford



Series: Fictober 2018: 31 Fandoms in 31 Days [17]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: AO3 FACEBOOK CHALLENGE, AO3 FB Challenge, AO3 Writers Facebook Group, AO3 Writers Facebook Group Monthly Challenge, Baked Goods, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Fictober, Fluff and Angst, Hopeful Ending, Nightmares, Post-Mockingjay, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-02 18:45:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16310666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexis_Rockford/pseuds/Alexis_Rockford
Summary: Haunted by memories of Prim's death, Katniss refuses all visitors. Fortunately, Peeta is there to bring some sweetness back into her life...This ficlet was written in response to the Fictober prompt for October 17, 2018: Baked





	Sweet Tooth

Spring crept up on Katniss as craftily as she herself might stalk a deer. The piles of snow in the Victors’ Village shrank infinitesimally day by day until finally she could see the bare, hard ground underneath. Peeta’s primroses would be blooming soon, but Katniss found she didn’t want to see them. The gesture had seemed kind last year when he initially planted them, but at the moment, Katniss missed her sister more than ever and felt that the sweet pink blossoms would mock her loss rather than soothe it. Her moods fluctuated as much as the weather lately, and she found that remaining in her room working on her book was the only way to maintain her fragile sanity.

She was writing an entry about Finnick when she heard a pounding knock on the front door. She ignored it and continued her work, her lips pursed and her brow furrowed in concentration. She wasn’t entirely surprised when a creak resounded in her front hall and the sound of shuffling footsteps greeted her.

“Hello?” called a familiar voice, and Katniss’s heart sped a little despite herself. Of course it would be Peeta. Very few other people ever visited her in her self-inflicted confinement, and Peeta was the only one who had a spare key. She was in no condition to see him, however. She had been wearing the same outfit for a week, her braid was greasy and tangled, and her cheeks were still tear-stained from the terrors of the night before. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the flames of the inferno blazing though it be as intangible now as it had been in her nightmare. It had been all too real when it had actually happened, and that thought was enough to fill her nostrils with the scent of sulfur and death yet again. _Prim…_

“Katniss, I know you’re here,” the voice continued. “You haven’t left the house since last fall. You really should get some fresh air. The breeze is lovely today.”

Katniss longed to greet him, but the words stuck in her throat like the treacle tart he had made her last week. She remained hunched over her desk, pen clutched tightly in her fist. _Go away, Peeta,_ she thought fiercely, rocking her body for comfort. _I can’t do this today._

“I’m not going anywhere, so you can just forget that idea.”

He had apparently read her thoughts. _Damn you, Peeta,_ she thought uncharitably, though there was a small part of her that was glad that he never gave up on her.

In no time at all, his stocky frame darkened her bedroom doorway. “I knew I’d find you here,” he said in a soft, low voice.

Katniss shivered, pulling her knees up to her chest. “You always find me,” she muttered, but although her words were not spoken kindly, she found she actually meant them that way.

She heard footsteps behind her and took a sharp, small intake of breath as he placed a covered plate on her desk. “What is it?” she asked, feigning nonchalance, but her stomach betrayed her with a quiet growl.

“Hot cross buns,” he explained, removing the lid with a flourish. “They used to be a favorite treat at this time of year.

“Are you trying to tell me something?” she deadpanned, turning to look at him.

Peeta’s pale blue eyes blinked rapidly until the meaning of her words hit him. “Well, you’re always a bit cross,” he admitted with a lopsided smile. “As for hot and...the other word…” His cheeks flushed with heat, and she couldn’t help feeling the tiniest bit sorry for him.

“I was joking,” she added unnecessarily as she eyed the baked confections. He was right about one thing. The steam rising from the sweet bread was proof enough of that. Her hand began to creep toward the plate without her express permission. She grasped one of the buns and slowly brought it to her lips.

The pastry was so soft and delicate, it almost melted in her mouth. She swallowed the delicious mouthful reluctantly, even after savoring it for an inordinate amount of time. Even after all these months, Katniss wondered if she’d ever get used to having enough to eat.

“Well?” Peeta’s eyebrows raised in hopeful expectation.

“It’s amazing,” she admitted, nibbling on the pastry further. “But then, everything you bake is.”

Peeta beamed, and she felt the sunshine of his smile thaw the smallest sliver of her heart. “You’re the one who is amazing, Katniss. I’m sure you already know this by now, but I can’t imagine my life without you.”

A corner of her mouth turned up in an ironic grin as he deflected her false words from the original Hunger Games back at her. “I guess you’ve figured out that memory was real.”

Peeta nodded, his eyes serious yet full of hope. “My mind is coming back to me slowly day by day. It’s a struggle, and I don’t know that it ever won’t be. But I have reason to believe my darkest days are behind me.”

Katniss felt her eyes begin to fill. This was why she needed him so much. Even after all they had been through together, he still had a relentless optimism that refused to be extinguished no matter how hard the world had tried to snuff it out. His soul was the flip side of hers, his light stubbornly continuing to invade her darkness; his sweetness the perfect counterpart to her bitterness.

“Promise me you’ll never change, Peeta,” she managed to croak through her tears.

Peeta met her wavering gaze with his own steady one. “I can’t promise that,” he whispered hoarsely, “but I can tell you this: I will always be here for you, Katniss, no matter what.”

“I believe you,” she replied. She never thought she would say those words again as long as she lived, yet there it was. She trusted Peeta with her life just as she had every day since the caves, but it had taken until now for her to realize it. Trembling, she pressed her lips softly to his.

His lips were as sweet as the sticky bun he had so lovingly baked for her. As he began to pull out of the kiss, she knew she would never get enough of that taste.

“I love you,” he murmured as he turned to go, and before she could ask, he said, “Real.”

She wished she could tell him she loved him back, but that would come with time. Her heart had been shattered for so long, it was a miracle it even worked at all. Nevertheless, it fluttered briefly as he left the room. “I know,” she mouthed although she knew he couldn’t see it. “And thank you. For everything.”


End file.
